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This post is intended as a companion piece to my story in the current issue of Portland Monthly, Are Portlanders Anti-Science?. Below, in no particular order, are several anecdotes, ideas and facts that I originally wrote for that story, which were cut from the final text in the interest of clarity and concision. I’d like […]

[This is an op-ed that was published in my local neighborhood newspaper. I’m republishing it here, mostly for preservation, but also because I think it’s an interesting topic that folks who don’t live in my neighborhood might enjoy thinking about. As always, I welcome any feedback in the comment section. Thanks] ___________________________________ As a resident, […]

Actually, Jesus isn’t the reason for the season: why this agnostic celebrates Christmas It’s mid December as I write this, and if you came to my house today you would find it transformed for Christmas. We have a lovely Noble fir in our living room, hung with shiny ornaments and hundreds of colorful lights, and […]

Coming out of the closet: I was a teenage thug Up to this point, I’ve held off on writing about Ferguson, Michael Brown, Eric Garner or use of force by police. I’ve done so because, honestly, the whole issue kind of overwhelms me and I haven’t really felt like I had a particularly valuable […]

Sunday in Minnesota, outside their game against the Vikings, the Washington Redskins were confronted with the largest protest yet against their team name and mascot. So it seems like an opportune time to explore this controversial topic—Is the Washington Redskins football team name racist, and should it be changed? These thoughts were also prompted by […]

With this article I’m launching an occasional series about the social sciences and their place in a democratic society. This is a huge topic, and I’m not going to try to cover it all at once. In this first post I’m only going to introduce the topic and mention some really big picture thoughts. […]

With two weeks to go until Election day, I’m honestly torn about how to vote on Measure 92—the initiative that would require labeling of most foods that contain GMO ingredients. I’m not going to dig into the science behind GMO safety or efficacy in this post, but I will briefly sum up my own views […]